Bottle closure



July 11, 1967 P. v. L. SALMINEN 3,330,433

BOTTLE CLOSURE Filed May l2, 1955 United States Patent O 3,330,433 BOTTLE CLOSURE Paavo Viirtor Ludvig Salminen, Tolo-Helsingfors, Finland, assigner to Etablissement Pasinvest, Geneva, Switzerland Filed May 12, 1966, Ser. No. 549,6t38 Claims priority, appiication Sweden, May 13, 1965, 6,287/ 65 5 Claims. (Cl. 21S- 41) ABSTRACT 0F THE DHSCLOSURE In bottle caps of thermoplastic material having a stopper portion extending downwards and tightly iitting into the bottle neck and a collar portion extending downwards over the outside of the neck with an inner annular projection gripping under a thickened mouth portion of the bottle neck, it is diflicult to give the cap such resiliency and such a shape, that the cap can be held rmly in place on the bottle despite existing variations in shape and size of thickened mouth portion.

In order to avoid this drawback the invention proposes to provide anges placed in radial planes and pro-` jecting downwards from the upper portion of the cap connecting the upper ends of the stopper and collar portions. These flanges are easily bent `or squeezed in a degree to permit the pressing of the cap suiciently downwards to obtain a good engagement of the inner annular projection under the thickened mouth portion independent of variations in shape and size thereof.

This invention relates to bottle closures in one piece of thermoplastic material for closuring bottles with an outer bead around the bottle mouth. The invention is especially concerned with the kind of bottle closures of this type comprising a sealing stopper portion to be inserted into the bottle neck and an outer grip portion comprising an upper collar portion extending from the upper end of the stopper portion outwards and an outer collar portion extending downwards around the bottle mouth 'bead and having an inner annular projection adapted to grip under the bead of the lbottle mouth.

While many attempts have been made to produce means for a sure sealing within the actually prevailing tolerances of dimensions of the inner bottle mouth opening, there `are still considerable diiiiculties in combining within all existing tolerance fields a secure maintenance of the cap on the bottle mouth, especially for bottles with high inner pressure, with an easy removability of the cap and at least possible quantity of material in the cap. An easy tting and removing of the cap signifies automatically less mechanical stresses and risks of damages to the cap, especially at its removal.

The actual manufacture of bottles for carbonated beverages throughout the world takes mainly regard to the conditions dictated by the use of the well known crown corks or similar closures comprising a metal cap, which is pressed or puckered around and under the bottle mouth bead. Such closures are generally provided with a sealing pad of elastic material which is kept pressed onto the top surface of the bottle mouth by the cap. In such closures it is the vertical distance between the top surface of the bottle mouth and the under side of rthe bottle mouth bead which is critical and therefore the greatest care has hitherto been laid down in making the bottles with the least possible tolerances for this dimension. However, considerable variations occur in the bending radii of the intermediate surface between the topmost and the outmost surfaces of the cross section of the bottle mouth bead. This results in considerable variations of the -lentgh 3,33%,433 Patented July 11, 1967 of the generatrix of the bottle neck from the top of the mouth bead to the underside of said bead.

Closures of thermoplastic material, which are not formed individually onto the bottle, as is the case for metal caps, the inner annular projection of the collar border portion will extend more or less under said bead dependent on the individual shape of the outer bead of the bottle mouth. The inner annular projection of the collar border portion of the closure must therefore always be given a suiiicient radial height to be able to grip securely, under the bottle mouth bead under all circumctances. Therefore, the elastic deformation of the collar portion will be comparatively large at the fitting of the closure on the bottle as well as at the removal of the closure from the bottle, and the force to be applied to the closure will be comparatively large. This limits the choice of the material in the closure to such of high elasticity and the closure will be more easily damaged, especially when removed with a conventional bottle opener. If further the bottle lies near the llower linut of the tolerance lield, the pressure of the closure on the bottle mouth can become suliiciently low to permit the closure to be turned on the bottle in its closing position which can result in serious disturbances and even in interruptions in working when the bottles are passed through a labeling process in a known labeling machine, in which a rotation is transmitted to the bottle through the closure.

It is an object of the' invention to provide a construction of a closure cap of thermoplastic material of the type indicated above, by which the engagement `of the inner annular projection of the collar portion With the underside of the outer bead of the bottle mouth is rendered more independent of variations of the bending radius of the outer surface of the bottle mouth between its top surface and the underside of the bead.

A further object of the invention is to provide a construction, by which the fitting of the closure on the bottle and its removal is rendered more easy by reducing the amount of elastic deformation without reducing the sealing and retaining properties of the closure.

Still an object of the invention is a construction, of the closure, by which the closure after being fitted onto the bottle mouth cannot be turned.

These objects are obtained by providing flanges extending along radial planes downwards and inwards from an inclined surface on the inside of the collar portion between the upper and outer collar portions, which flanges have a resiliency to permit their elastic deformation against the bottle mouth bead when pressing the closure onto the bottle mouth. By this deformation the flanges are automatically adapted to the shape of the bottle mouth and the annular projection of the collar portion will a1- ways be able to be brought to the same engaging position under the bottle mouth bead.

Further advantages and characteristics of the invention will be understood from the following description of an embodiment of the invention with reference to the ac` companying drawing, which shows an axial section through a bottle closure cap of plastic material according to the invention.

In the drawing 1 designates the sealing stopper portion of the closure to be inserted into the mouth of the bottle neck. The invention is not concerned with this portion of the closure. Extending from the upper end of the stopper portion 1 there is the collar portion of the closure with an upper portion 2 extending outwards above the bottle mouth bead and an outer portion 3 extending downwards over the outside of the bottle mouth bead and provided at its lower part with a thicker border portion 4 forming au inner annular projection 7. The relative position of the bottle neck after fitting the closure thereon is shown in mixed lines. On the inside of the closure there is a conical intermediate surface 5 between the insides of the upper portion 2 of the collar portion and of the outer collar portion 3. On this conical surface 5 there are inwards and downwards extending anges 6 having their main planes preferably situated in radial planes through the axis of the closure. The thickness and the height of these flanges is adjusted to the elasticity of the cap material and to prevailing variations of the shape of the mouth bead of the bottle in such manner, that the flanges are always subjected to at least a little elastic deformation against the upper border of the bottle mouth bead and that the closure always under greater or less deformation of the flanges can be pressed down on the bottle neck to a suicient extent to bring the annular projection 7 of the border portion 4 to engage the under side of the mouth bead with its entire radial height h. This height h can be given a minimum dimension necessary to give a sure engagement between the collar portion and the mouth bead of the bottle and in the determination of this height regard need not be taken to the possibility of an incomplete engagement of the annular projection 7 under the bottle mouth bead. The widening of the border portion 4 during fitting of the closure on the bottle and its removal does not alone determine the force with which the inner annular projection 7 keeps the closure on the bottle, but even the resistance of the outer portion 3 of the collar lportion to outwards bending assists in this purpose. In

order to increase this assistance to the maintenance of the closure it is possible to reduce the outwards bending of the relatively weak part of the outer collar portion 3 by providing outer reinforcing flanges 8, extending axially between the part of the border portion 4 projecting outside the collar portion and the upper part of said outer collar portion 3. These flanges S will assist in the transmission of the outward bending forces on the outer collar portion 3 to the stilfer upper and outer part 9 of the collar portion; These outer reinforcing flanges can further be used for preventing a sliding between the closure and the machine element provided for transmitting a rotary motion through the closure to the bottle, as indicated above in connection with the labeling process.`

When fitting the closure onto the bottle the upper face of the mouth bead will engage the essentially radial in- 'side of the upper portion 2 of the collar portion. Though,

as stated, the tolerances of the bottles are the least for the distance between the top and the under side of the mouth bead, it is possible to compensate even for such smaller variations by providing on said inside of the upper portion 2 essentially radially extending anges 10 formed by recesses 11 in the inside of said upper collar portion 2. The height and thickness of these flanges 10 is, as for the anges 6, adjusted to existing variations in the height of the mouth beads of the bottles. By the recesses 11 between said anges a reduction of the necessary amount of material in the upper collar portion 2 is obtained without reducing its bending resistance. The horizontal flanges 10 can be formed as extensions of the inclined flanges 6, but since the latter flanges are obtained by milling grooves in the mould used for forming the closure there is no difficulty in arranging the flanges 6 and 10 in positions independent of each other.

The possibility obtained by the invention to form the border portion 4 with a little height h of its inner annular projection 7 makes it also possible to provide the border portion 4 with a reduced radial thickness. The cross-sectional area of the border portion 4 is, however, also determined by the desired peripheral contracting force of the border portion. Within the limits determined thereby a great liberty in choice of the conguration of the border portion 4 is obtained. A consequence of the arrangement of the flanges 6 according to the invention is thus the possibility to shape the border portion 4 so that better regard can be taken to the conditions for the removal of the closure by means of-a conventional bottle opener having an extension 12 engaged under the border of the collar border portion 4. The border portion 4 is therefore preferably provided with a conical, downwardly widened conical end surface 13, the conicity of which essentially corresponds to the inclination of the extension 12 of the bottle opener whereby the point of attack of the force exerted with the bottle opener is displaced farther outwardly, which produces a greater lever arm for lifting the border portion outwards and upwards. Thereby, as well as by the reduced height h of the inner projection 7 the force necessary for removing the closure is considerably reduced. Practical tests have shown, that for a cap of thermoplastic material of a similar, previously known type a lifting force of about 50 lbs. had to be exerted on the border of the collar portion, while, for a cap according to the invention, the lifting effort necessary for removal was less than 30 lbs. For known crown corks lifting forces between 60 and 130 lbs. have been measured.

The adaptability to variations of the shape and dimensions of the bottle mouths obtained by the invention can by appropriate choice of the dimensions of the flanges 6 be extended to comprise also larger tolerances Vfor both bottles and closures without reducing the advantages obtained by the invention.

Though the invention has heretofore been described and illustrated in a particular embodiment, the invention is not limited thereto. It is thus possible within the scope of the appending claims, instead of forming the anges in surfaces 5 and 11 with straight generatrix and with straight edges on the flanges 6 and 10 to form the flange supporting surfaces and the flanges themselves with rounded transitions and with the anges 6 and 10 forming extension of each other. Dependent upon the properties of the material and the desired effect the pressure between the flanges and the bottle mouth bead and the elasticity of the flanges can be made dependent in various manners from the depth of their deformation by appropriate shape of their cross sections. The invention can also be applied to bottle closures of plastic material formed to engage bottles of other types, e.g. with a recess to be engaged by the inner projection of the border portion of the cap collar. i

Though there seems not to be any reason for placing the flanges 6 and 10 otherwise than in radial planes, it is obvious that the same effect can be obtained by placing these ilanges at an angle with the radial direction.

I claim:

1. A bottle closure in one piece of thermoplastic material for bottles with an annular bead surrounding the bottle mouth, comprising a stopper portion extending into the bottle neck, an upper collar portion extending from the top of the stopper portion outwards over the bottle mouth, an outer collar portion extending from the upper collar portion downwards over the outside of the bottle mouth bead, an inwards projecting annular projection along the lower edge of the outer collar portion engaging the under side of the bottle mouth bead, an inclined surface on the inside of the collar portion between its upper portion and its outer portion, anges extending downwards and inwards from said inclined surface and having an elastic resiliency for their elastic deformation against the bottle mouth bead when pressing the closure onto the bottle mouth.

2. A bottle closure as claimed in claim 1, in which the lower edge of the outer collar portion has a downwards diverging conical lower end surface forming a grip surface for a bottle opener.

3. A bottle closure in one piece of thermoplastic material for bottles with -an annular bead surrounding the bottle mouth, comprising a stopper portion extending into the bottle neck, an upper collar portion extending from the top of the stopper portion outwards over the bottle mouth, an outer collar portion extending from the upper collar portion downwards over the outside of the bottle mouth bead, an inwards projecting annular bead along the lower edge of the outer collar portion engaging the under side of the bottle mouth bead, an inclined surface on the inside of the collar portion between its upper portion and its outer portion, flanges extending downwards and inwards from said inclined surface, and further anges extending downwards from the inside surface of the upper portion of the collar portion, said flanges having an elastic resiliency for their elastic deformation by the bottle mouth bead when pressing the closure onto the bottle mouth.

4. A bottle closure as claimed in claim 3, in which the anges extending from the inclined surface and the flanges extending from the inside surface of the upper collar portion are formed by continuous anges extending over both of said surfaces.

5. A bottle closure in one piece of thermoplastic material for bottles with an annular bead surrounding the bottle mouth, comprising a stopper portion extending into the bottle neck, an upper collar portion extending from the top of the stopper portion outwards over the bottle mouth, an outer collar portion extending downwards over the outside `of the bottle mouth bead, an annular border bead along the lower edge of the outer collar portion projecting inwards and outwards from the collar portion, the inwards projecting part of the border bead engaging the under side of the bottle mouth bead, axially extending anges on the outside of the outer collar portion between the outwards projecting part of the border bead and a reinforced annular portion between the upper and outer collar portions, an inclined surface on the inside of said reinforced annular portion, anges extending downwards and inwards from said inclined surface and having an elastic resiliency for their elastic deformation by the bottle mouth bead when pressing the closure onto the bottle mouth.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1961 Stull 21S-41 X l/1964 Salminen 21S-41 

1. A BOTTLE CLOSURE IN ONE PIECE OF THERMOPLASTIC MATERIAL FOR BOTTLES WITH AN ANNULAR BEAD SURROUNDING THE BOTTLE MOUTH, COMPRISING A STOPPER PORTION EXTENDING INTO THE BOTTLE NECK, AN UPPER COLLAR PORTION EXTENDING FROM THE TOP OF THE STOPPER PORTION OUTWARDS OVER THE BOTTLE MOUTH, AN OUTER COLLAR PORTION EXTENDING FROM THE UPPER COLLAR PORTION DOWNWARDS OVER THE OUTSIDE OF THE BOTTLE MOUTH BEAD, AN INWARDS PROJECTING ANNULAR PROJECTION ALONG THE LOWER EDGE OF THE OUTER COLLAR PORTION ENGAGING THE UNDER SIDE OF THE BOTTLE MOUTH BEAD, AN INCLINED SURFACE ON THE INSIDE OF THE COLLAR PORTION BETWEEN ITS UPPER PORTION AND ITS OUTER PORTION, FLANGES EXTENDING DOWN- 